Brave Hearts

I want to send you an ounce of courage and a slice of bravery. Not the version of BRAVE with capital letters (that is just arrogant); just a regular ol’ ordinary cup of soulful brave. The authentic lower-case brave. When I walk bravely to the ledge, I am never sure if I will leap or teeter back to the safety of my comfort zone.

What helps you leap versus retreat?

I just started reading The War of Artby Steve Pressfield. Have you read it? He says, “Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of the resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that the enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That’s why we feel so much resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there would be no resistance.”

I have to share this thought from the book: resistance encourages you to take it easy and be ordinary! According to Pressfield, resistance is the reason so many people place a basket over the brilliant candle that shines within.

So my wish for you… shine a light on the passions in your life. Or simply, begin with tiny brave steps: initiate conversations with strangers, open the door to new and perhaps unlikely friendships, say yes to giving and receiving, begin to forgive or let grudges dissolve, pick up a paintbrush or say yes to an idea that keeps surfacing.

So I wrote it on an old t-shirt. Don’t laugh.

I wanted to try my textile medium which transforms acrylic paint into washable fabric paint! You simply mix one part textile medium with two parts acrylic paint (the details are on the bottle). I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut a template, but you could free-hand paint if you don’t have a Silhouette or similar device.

Same technique on a dish towel.

*These Are the Days, recorded by Natalie Merchant & 10,000 Maniacs.

Have you heard Courage Is by the Strange & Familiar? The lyrics alone read like a poem, but layered with music and vocals, this song soars. For a preview, please click here.

Dearest Brave Heart Karen,
Thanks for commenting here! So happy you listened to the song – isn’t it absolutely beautiful? Have you read the book? I believe you would love it… So, so fun to hear from you! You brave and lovely!

Love the t-shirt and towel! I love gentle reminders like these to remind me to live the life I intend to live. Maybe someday you could add a shopping cart to your blog and you would make a couple extras of everything you make to sell 🙂

Dearest Brave Heart Susie: So fun to hear from you here!!! I love that you understand my musings and oh, how I admire your bravery and wisdom! Your comment is laser-focused on one of the scary decisions on the horizon…. finally opening my little online store. I am oh so close to taking the leap! Grateful that you are along for this journey!

What a lovely post. I haven’t read that book, but now I will look for it. Your shirt and towel look great! I have some of that textile medium in my studio, collecting dust. You have inspired me to create something with it.

Yes, Yes, Yes the fear is resistance and yes I am terrified because this is sooooo important to me. Launching my first workshop this week and it has been a desire of mine for so long and it is so deeply important to me and I am scared beyond imagining.
Thanks Debbie I am needing every bit of brave this week.
Love the T-shirt and you have given me an idea. Pinning this delightful post for future reference.

I absolutely love blasting this song from my car radio with the windows down and singing from all my heart and soul. Every time I hear it, I think how blessed I am. I remember singing it with a friend in college in 1999… THEN I thought it could never get better, and yet every time it does! Great post.